Can You Guess Who Were The Most Popular Contemporary Artists in March?

Although March brought lots of excitement both in the art market and in the art exhibition scene, in our Artist Database, it actually brought very little to no surprise. The most popular contemporary artists of April still spark a lot of interest. We guess it’s clear who’s themostpopularof them all, closely followed by some other super-popular, high-end, expensive or hip artists. Names of these artists are not necessary to mention, but just to be clear – we’re talking about Banksy, Jeff Koons, and Basquiat, followed by Widewalls’ reader fans’ favorites Guy Denning, Alexis Diaz, Herakut, Borondo, C215 and Riusuke Fukahori. The biggest surprise on the list, landing on the second place is Fran Bosoletti, a tulip-loving Argentinian, whose elegant murals have won the hearts of international public art lovers. To all of those who are used to the permanent residents of our Most Viewed List, Bosoletti is a welcome breath of fresh air, appropriately coming with the greenest season!

Fran Bosoletti - Poetic and eclectic

Francisco Bosoletti is a young Argentinian street artist, best known for his large-scale murals. Poetic and eclectic, his works show pictorial elements in which the figure of human body and reflective floral component forcefully emerge and gain the upper hand on reality.

Bosoletti has undertaken a unique artistic research whose aim is to oppose the all-pervading power of economic and financial speculation through a combination of both a provocative and rebellious attitude with a classicistic style. The symbol he has chosen for this battle is the tulip, the protagonist of one of the most incredible speculative intercontinental business operations. A poetic and elegant flower, in Bosoletti’s works the tulip mixes with human figures that as a result are transformed into totems, signals, arrows and warnings whose aim is to preserve an idea of coherent humanity within the pictorial metaphor.

Jeff Koons for Sacramento Kings

Perhaps last month he was ranked 8th, but come February, art superstar Jeff Koons is back on one of the top ranks on our list! Critics are sharply divided in their views of Koons. Some view his work as pioneering and of major art-historical importance. Others dismiss his work as kitsch: crass and based on cynical self-merchandising. Koons has stated that there are no hidden meanings in his works, nor any critiques. Love him or not, his work is something that cannot be overlooked and his retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art only proves this. In addition, not much is changing if we look at the art market. Jeff Koons pieces are almost always present at auctions. During February, it was announced that he will create a sculpture for Sacramento Kings.

Jean-Michel Basquiat - A Regular

Climbing up and sliding down the top 10 list, he is a regular on our top 10 most viewed artists of the month, but that is no surprise. Jean-Michel Basquiat is one of the most beloved artists of the century! Three years of struggle gave way to fame in 1980, when his work was featured in a group show. His work and style received critical acclaim for the fusion of words, symbols, stick figures, and animals. Soon, his paintings came to be adored by an art loving public that had no problem paying as much as $50,000 for a Basquiat original. His rise coincided with the emergence of a new art movement, Neo-Expressionism, ushering in a wave of new, young and experimental artists that included Julian Schnabel and Susan Rothenberg. In the mid-1980s, Basquiat collaborated with famed pop artist Andy Warhol, which resulted in a show of their work that featured a series of corporate logos and cartoon characters. On his own, Basquiat continued to exhibit around the country and the world. Be sure to check out our announcement for his latest show at the Brooklyn Museum that reveals the yet unseen notebooks by the famous artist.

Guy Denning - Powerful brush strokes

Jumping three places up since last month, at number 8, we have Guy Denning! Denning uses not only powerful brush strokes to express his emotions deeply but also scratches the paint to show the audience the intensity of the emotions he is trying to portray with his artwork. He also sometimes uses stencils and collaged text. He has also been invited to work on a variety of community urban art projects and has developed a distinctive style that builds images from drawing and stenciled text. Through a recognizable visual narrative Guy Danning continues to change and shape the face of Contemporary Art.

Alexis Diaz - Phantasmagorical animals

On the 6th place this month we find a brilliant draughtsman – muralist Alexis Diaz. He is a Puerto Rican painter and urban muralist known for his thorough technique of engraving and huge murals, very detailed and made line by line with precision, populated by phantasmagorical animals. Hailing from Porto Rico, he has been drawing from a very young age but street art always caught his attention above traditional methods because, as he says: I felt that traditional, paint-on-canvas style had its limitations – I had always dreamed of creating art for all people to enjoy. That’s what led him to work in the streets.

Herakut - Dualism

Jumping up 8 places from last month, we find the interesting German duo Herakut. Their artworks can be found in big cities around the world – from Toronto to Kathmandu, from San Francisco to Melbourne. They have published two books, The Perfect Merge published in 2009 and 2011’s After the Laughter, to great success.Today, Herakut is one of the foremost collaborations in urban art and an innovative presence in contemporary painting.

Borondo - Glass scratching

At the 8th place of our list is the talented Borondo, who is reinventing street art by using an original method of “glass scratching,” inspired loosely by the recent economic crisis. ”Where the crisis strikes, you will notice many shops that are either closed or empty. If you scratch the window slightly you will suddenly be able to see the inside of the shop. I find that quite poetic, glass has something beautiful about it. Sometimes I like to do the opposite of that. I apply black paint on commercial spotlights and by scratching the paint off the spotlight, I allow light to pass through.” As Brondo himself says: “The glass has something that other materials do not have. It is fragile but strong at the same time. It is a mystery that I still have not been able to understand. ” Borondo recently had a great show in London, and issued an art book as well.

C215 - SURPRISE APPEARANCE

Somewhat of a surprise, C215 has found himself on the Most Viewed list after a little over a year. Famous for the portraits he makes, C215 sees faces that have a universal message that everybody, no matter who, will understand and be moved by. But “In the end, behind the portraits, the question is always freedom and dignity in the face of a capitalist daily life system”, as he claims. His striking portraits of local people, children and especially his daughter Nina are expressive and distinctive in style. With his subjects always portrayed as proud and dignified, his images communicate on a universal level and draw attention to those that society has forgotten about. Guemy’s work was recently featured at the 12th anniversary show at White Walls SF.

Riusuke Fukahori - What are goldfish?

Probably the most popular Japanese artist in our Database, Riusuke Fukahori, is finishing off the list this month. About his favorite topic Riusuke said: “I think of goldfish as a living sculpture with man-made modifications. It never reaches the completed form; the goldfish’s vulnerability and imperfections bring out our motherly instinct. I’ve been bewitched with the strong energy of life of goldfish that has inherited mutations for more than 1500 years, continuously changing forms by man’s hands. I’ve been depicting an uncountable numbers of goldfish in my work, but the mysterious pull towards goldfish will never die for me. The impulse of exploration, “What are goldfish” drives me to create more. Where and how they want to swim, and what they think; these are the questions that I’ve been asking myself when I paint goldfish. I believe this process will help breathe life into the goldfish in my works.“ Read his interview with Widewalls.

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